Friday, November 04, 2011

Many Peoples, Many Identities: Racism and Sexism Within the OccupationIt’s been over a month since the Occupy Wall Street Movement began. Like manyothers; despite my active involvement and overall support, OWS has both inspired andenraged me. It’s made me remember why I became an organizer. And it’s made merealize why sometimes, I want to quit.A lot of us have reasons for feeling enraged. At my first GA, several young whitemen who identified themselves proudly as those who had been at Zuccotti Park since“Day One” shouted disagreements with a Black woman who voiced legal concerns aboutthe risks of arrest for undocumented protestors. The men used their self-proclaimed“veteran” status to silence and ridicule the legitimate concerns of some of the mosteconomically disadvantaged and historically marginalized of the 99%–undocumentedworkers.A few days later, on indigenous people’s day, a white man who identified himself as“one of the OWS organizers” physically and verbally attacked a female jaranera whowas performing son jarocho music. Apparently, she was “standing on the flower bed.”The two cited examples of racism and sexism that have manifested themselves in theOWS movement are not isolated occurrences. The arrogant dominance of young white menis constant and has turned many experienced organizers—particularly women, queer andtrans people, and people of color—to withdraw support for the movement.But despite the many amazing organizers who have justifiably left OWS and vowed tonever return, many others just won’t walk away. They see the potential of themovement. They hate many of the people and ideologies behind it; they hate theprivilege and the arrogance, but they see the potential.Every organization, every movement, struggles with acknowledging systematicoppression. Movements that deny racism, movements that deny sexism; movements thatare completely unaccountable to the very people they claim to be liberating; thesemovements will fail. Again and again, we have witnessed their failure.Systemic Inequalities Within the 99%As a queer white woman, I’ve struggled with how to contribute to the OWS movement.After my first GA, I felt conflicted. Inspired and enraged. I never wanted to comeback, but I wanted to set up camp and stay every night. I recognized that as a whiteperson, it was my responsibility to use my own privilege and power to try to battlethe racism I’d witnessed; but as a queer woman, I felt uncomfortable and unsafedealing with such blatant and unacknowledged sexism. Yet again, the biggest leftistmovement of our generation is seemingly clueless about race, class and gender.As an organizer, I saw the benefit of the populist message that “We Are the 99%”,but the deeper I became involved, the more I’ve realized that many who are“occupying Wall Street” neither understand nor believe that there are systemicinequalities within the 99%. Many neither understand nor believe that we are not abig ol’ “American melting pot” of “one people”, but that we are many peoples, manyraces, many identities.Some see nothing wrong with white male voices facilitating every meeting. Some thinkit’s okay to curl up next to a surprised sleeping woman and ask if you can share.Others don’t flinch when a white man hands out white flyers to white people aboutOccupying [Black] Harlem.But some of us—many of us—are not going to sleep as the movement passes us by. We’renot going to walk away, even though we could. Even though, in some ways, it would beeasier.Sexism Unresolved: Queer Women Occupy the ParkAfter making excuse after excuse to myself about why I wouldn’t sleep on theconcrete ground of Zuccotti Park like everyone else, I realized that I wasabsolutely terrified. Terrified of an unknown body next to mine, of the potentialexperiences and memories that they might bring. Terrified because of stories I’dheard, because of sexism unresolved.A lot of women, queers, and trans people—along with many people of color andundocumented immigrants—do not feel comfortable sleeping in an open space with a lotof men, surrounded by police. Police presence ensures that protestors could, at anytime, be risking arrest; and a racist police system ensures that people of colorwill be targeted. Unrestricted male presence in all sleeping areas ensures thatprotestors could, at any time, be exposing themselves to molestation and/or rape;and patriarchy ensures that women, queers, and trans people will be targeted.Maybe I was out to prove something to my friends that were too afraid to stay, ormaybe I had to prove to myself that I wasn’t going to let male privilege prevent mefrom another experience.As I walked around the park trying to scope out a safe space to sleep, I was on thelookout for the women’s sleeping space that I heard about. Despite many tours andseveral sleeping invitations from men, I couldn’t find a single women’s (let alonequeer or trans) space. I saw a lot of single men scattered about the park,heterosexual couples cuddling under their sleeping bags, and a number of sleepingspaces that were covered in tarp and not “open to the public.”After about an hour of roaming and observing, I found a group of three sleepingyoung women, and I decided to lay my sleeping bag out at their feet. As I lay in my“bed”, trying to write, I felt the eyes of several people fall upon me. The eyes ofthose who are eager to make conversation. Eager to be invited.I decided that I’d feel safest if I de-gendered myself by putting the sleeping bagover my head and just going to sleep. As I nervously closed my eyes, I was woken upseveral times by loud voices. Once by a man yelling about losing his stuff, anothertime by an altercation between several men over politics, and finally by a midnight“mic check” of someone who was angry about theft within OWS.I finally drifted off to sleep, and in the morning I awoke with men on every otherside of me, despite my deliberate attempts to be in a woman’s space. I was annoyed,but validated. My experience proved what so many had told me: OWS is not a safespace.Ends and Means: Making OWS a Safer SpaceIt’s been one month since the Occupy Wall Street movement began. Despite OWSorganizers priding themselves in increasing diversity, they have yet to reallyaddress issues of systemic racism, sexism, and classism within the movement. But insome ways, they are right. The movement is growing. Over 100 cities in the U.S.alone have endorsed the Occupy movement, with over 82 countries participating in theOctober 15th global day of action.But again, movements that deny racism, movements that deny sexism, classism,homophobia, ableism; and do not prioritize an anti-oppression framework; will fail.OWS has a critical role to play in eliminating oppression within the movement; theyhave a role to play, but they cannot do it alone. They need us. They need the activeparticipation of queers, women, people of color, unemployed people, low-incomeworkers, union members, and undocumented immigrants. They need all of us.Instead of struggling for a new [white man’s] “American Revolution”, we need tostruggle for a People’s Revolution that acknowledges that the “America” we live inis a history that is founded in genocide and slavery. The “American Revolution” wasfounded in colonization and imperialism.I understand and respect the many people—and there are many people—who see theobstacles as too great and the opportunities too small to further engage in thismovement. But to those optimistic enough to see a purpose, for those imaginativeenough to envision a new future, and foolish enough to dedicate themselves to itscreation: I’m with you.The movement may not be perfect, but it is our movement. Our rage is justified. Ourimpact is inevitable.- Charlene Obernauer

Break the Chains.info

is a news and discussion forum for supporters of political prisoners, prisoners of war, politicized social prisoners, and victims of police and state intimidation.

This blog is organized and updated autonomously of the disbanded Break the Chains Prisoner Support Network formerly based in Eugene, Oregon. While this online project shares several of the same concerns as the old Break the Chains collective, no formal organization exists behind the current web presence.

"I will never surrender my pride and dignity nor allow the system to 'cut my tongue' and I will always, without fear, speak out against these war crimes and crimes against humanity, no matter if I spend the rest of my life in a prison cage, and draw my last breath of air laying down in this steel bed surrounded by razor-wire fences and cages, and its prison policies that are designed to destroy one's humanity…."